Why is the community population declining?

[Veygaar]

I know why...

It's an old game guys. That's why. Nothing much to do about it except wait for Star Citizen to really come through with a fully mod'able system that Disco can convert to.

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Veygaar for Admin Moderator 2013!!!

[puppytaste]

I'd have a few suggestions, problem is they might not be popular and I'm sure within 10 mins of posting this I'll be hated by many but whatever there just suggestions.

1. Banner ads that promote the game. If FL had more exposure more people would play, simple. The only reason I found this game is because I used to play X3, but the game got so complex that my comp just wouldn't handle it anymore. So I searched for another space sim that took less resources to play. I doubt many people would come to FL for the same reasons.
2. Get the rights for FL from Microsoft. Unless its open source now, I don't know. But they cant possibly be making any money off it. If they could be convinced to just give it away, that would open up a whole new world of possibilities for the game.
3.Ad's on the forums. I hate ad's just as much as you. But if the revenue generated meant that the game improves and expands then I doubt players who use the forums would mind just clicking one or 2 a day to make a few shekels for the community.
4. More mysteries in game. I mean seriously, all you have to do is look at the wiki or download FL Companion or something and bam! you now know everything there is to know in the universe. I'm not thinking of anything major but why not have like a seige week where all of a sudden theirs enemy ships spawning in New York or New London or somthing (only for a few days ) or announce that a new JH was found to earth in some 'impossible' to find location and we all go looking for it. Just suggestions here, but my point is to keep people engaged in the long term FL needs to shake things up more than once every two years with a new mod. If your not in one of the more interesting factions this game can get stale very quickly, and I have personally brought people in my own real life in, only to have them quit after a month because their bored.

Anyways fell free to tear my ideas apart all you wish. I can only say that I'm doing my best to add a positive contribution to the community. And there's many who will read this who can't honestly say that.

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[TLI-Inferno]

Those are indeed good ideas.

Putting ads on the forum is easily done, and I really wouldn't mind it. Seeing a banner ad at the top and bottom does not disturb me whatsoever, and anyone who really makes such a big deal about it needs to quit being so anal and selfish.

Anyone who can't endure seeing a little bar at the top and bottom, easily ignore-able, so that this community can have a chance at getting the funds it needs to help it stay alive longer, is not worth crying over losing anyway.

[puppytaste]

And then you got dicks like this so called 'camtheman' knocking out the server. It's sad to think how many will never return because of that lolwut. Even one is too many....

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[Anaximander]

He's not the one knocking out the server, apparantly.

He just spams bitter posts on the forum that moderators have to clean up.

[Jack.Harrowfield]

Hi. I just joined a couple days ago and I plan on sticking around for a while. So, at least I'm not adding to the decline. And anyways, most people I know have at least played freelancer, and would play this if they knew it existed. I think the server population could be increased if the game was advertised more.

[Ichiru]

He's not the one knocking out the server, apparantly.

He just spams bitter posts on the forum that moderators have to clean up.

I'm still annoyed because his "forums" never had kittens like his signature once promised

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Acolyte of NoMe

[jammi]

I'm still annoyed because his "forums" never had kittens like his signature once promised

Why would someone attack an empty site?

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News article library, feedback and content requests.

[Croft]

Going to starfliers would be pointless. It would still ruin alot of RP. For example why would say "admiral Hale" be in a starflier, and not atleast a military fighter?
Also it would be hours upon endless hours to start up 20-30-40 chars in starflees. So again time i do not have to waste recovering my chars. So i would say screw it and leave.

That's why it'd be better to have a complete wipe, I'd throw in forums too, factions, stories, comms, anything to do with the server before the wipe. With no characters to recover and no previous stories to tie people down we may actually see some diverse and interesting RP going on.

Took me 6+ years to get what i have, and that was when i had alot more time due to being younger, and not working. Older now, and working, so all wiping out ships would do is give all the younger kids, and lolwuts with more time then brains a chance to get ahead of vets, and basically run amoke all over the server.
A cash wipe is fine, it gets rid of billions, but atleast players keep thier chars/ships. As for people storing cap8s like you say? Why would staff need to tell people ahead of time this was coming if they decided to do it.
Either way this would not help with server population, it would actually hinder it. Many would leave if they lost cash, and a huge amount would leave if they all started from flees.

If people are only sticking around because they have a lot to lose it'd factor in to the current decline, without the willingness to start over we get stagnation.
Starting entirely from scratch is the only fair way as removing money would only hit those like me who don't have a lot of time to play and don't have much money. New players won't be effected since they have hardly anything and veterans won't be effected because they still have their legions of ships.
Truth of the matter is lolwuts are already running amok and players with more free time are always going have more money. That should not impact our willingness to play.

1 example of this. World of Tanks. I was in closed, and open Beta. We had 50K average players in Beta, then everything wiped when it opened, and now we average 30-40k at busiest hour.

Funny you should mention WoT, I've just read an article about it breaking a world record for the most players on a single server, 190k on RU2 I believe. Seems if folks enjoy a game they'll play it regardless.

Let's face it, there's never going to be a perfect solution, we continue on course RP dies off and people leave, we wipe the database, people lose accounts and leave. People will leave no matter what happens, I'd much rather see a reborn Disco with all the improvements that can't be made without wiping and give it one last go before Star Citizen either descends from the heavens on a fiery chariot to deliver us to the promised land or fails utterly.

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Jimmy The Rat | Croft's Feedback | The Rat Pack

[Anaximander]

^This man is right.

Character wipe would mean that we could have systems deleted, the mod could be designed with the players (=/= Igiss) in mind, streamlined and perhaps a bit simplified in terms of rules, remnants from old RP stuff long forgotten and so on.

With the collective experience of the community, Disco 4.88 (or Disco 5 !!!!) could be the awesomest thing ever, but it would require heavy usage of the "delete" button and a strong will from players to not throw in the towel when their CAU8 BS is forever lost.